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EXPANDING VRP FOR ENHANCED GENERATIVE AI SECURITY

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEURIPS 2023

Paper digest generated summaries of many papers from NeurIPS 2023. Interestingly, much of this work is almost a year old at this point and has already been readily adopted by the community.

HELIXNET IS 3 MODELS COMBINED INTO ONE

If you fine-tune three task-specific models from the Mistral base, one for generation, one for critique, and a final one for regeneration then the entire system shows dramatically improved generation performance. Synthetic data is used to tune these models.

SKETCH WHAT YOU WANT YOUR ROBOT TO DO

Sketching a rough outline of what you want a robot to accomplish is a novel form of communication and turns out to work surprisingly well for standard pick and place tasks.

GISKARD: OPEN-SOURCE TESTING FRAMEWORK FOR LLMS & ML MODELS (GITHUB REPO SPONSOR)

Giskard is a Python library [11] that automatically detects vulnerabilities of AI models, from tabular models to LLM, including: performance biases, data leakage, spurious correlation, hallucination, toxicity, security issues and many more. Get your model to production quickly and safely.

Install Giskard (via GitHub) [11] or try it in Colab

DEEPSPEED RELEASES INFERENCE SOFTWARE

This is Deepspeed's new software for competing with vLLM and text-generation interfaces for the fast serving of language models. It comes with many state-of-the-art acceleration features and preliminary results suggest it's up to 2.4x faster.

X "SIMILAR POSTS" POWERED BY RUST-BASED VECTOR DATABASE

Qdrant uses a lightning-fast vector database to store embeddings.

VIDEO2MUSIC CREATES TAILORED MUSIC FOR VIDEOS

Video2Music’s AI framework generates emotionally congruent music for videos, leveraging a unique dataset and transformer model validated by user studies.

AI DATA PIPELINE ATTACKS

Poisoning the data well and other data pipeline attacks are a huge challenge for the cyber security community and often a blindspot for most AI organizations. This post outlines (with code) what the attacks are to help with future mitigation.

COULD CRUISE BE THE THERANOS OF AI?

Cruise, GM's driverless car company, frequently relies on remote operators for its vehicles, challenging the company's claims of autonomy. The revelation raises concerns about the true capabilities of self-driving cars and prompts calls for transparency and investigation into the safety and autonomy of such vehicles.

EXTENSIONS PROMPT INJECTION AND DATA EXFILTRATION

A great deep dive into some novel vulnerabilities that come from generative AI plugins. In this case, the attack resembles SQL injection but came via an infected Google Doc. While Google has fixed the issue, the security researcher was able to exfiltrate other users’ prompts.

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GOOGLE'S RESEARCH SCHOLAR PROGRAM IS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS

Google's program allows early career postdoc-level researchers to join a team with resources and continue their research agenda.

CHATGPT PLUS CAN NOW ANALYZE FILES

The latest update on ChatGPT Plus introduces fresh beta functionalities, including the ability to work with PDFs. Users can upload and interact with documents alongside receiving multimodal assistance.

LAYER (PRODUCT)

Layer cuts your research time by 40% with AI-powered summarization, information extraction, and more.

HONG KONG MULLS ALLOWING SPOT CRYPTO ETFS IN PURSUIT OF ASIA HUB

Hong Kong is considering the possibility of permitting ETFs that invest directly into cryptocurrencies. This move, which would be aimed at retail investors, comes as officials aim to make the city the main digital-asset hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Securities and Futures Commission CEO, Julia Leung, stated that proposals that utilize innovative tech to enhance efficiency and customer experience are welcome, provided new risks are adequately addressed.

OPENSEA SLASHES NFT MARKETPLACE STAFF BY 50%

OpenSea confirmed a reduction of 50% of its total workforce as part of structural and operational changes. The goal of this move is to establish a more streamlined version of the OpenSea platform. CEO Devin Finzer shared the company's revised goal to lead and innovate in the space while launching an upgraded version of its platform.

BORED APE CREATOR YUGA LABS AND MAGIC EDEN LAUNCHING ETHEREUM NFT MARKETPLACE THAT ENFORCES ROYALTIES

Magic Eden announced plans to launch a new Ethereum-based marketplace with Yuga Labs by the end of the year. The platform will use smart contracts to ensure creator royalties are honored during secondary market sales. This development comes in response to some platforms failing to honor creator fees as NFT sales took a major hit over the past year. With this move, Magic Eden reaffirmed its commitment to supporting creators and addressing potential loopholes in their new solution.

BUTTER FINANCE: THE PREMIER DECENTRALIZED META-GOVERNANCE AND YIELD-BOOSTING PLATFORM FOR PANCAKESWAP’S UPCOMING VECAKE MODEL

DeFi platform Butter Finance is set to enhance yield and governance for PancakeSwap’s upcoming veCAKE model. Butter Finance aims to serve a large, diverse international user base, facilitating sophisticated liquidity strategies and lucrative protocol access. Its function is to aggregate veCAKE and democratize the reward boost across liquidity providers, which will result in more CAKE being locked and optimally allocated. Butter will launch with support from multiple well-known DeFi stakeholders.

AN UNFINISHED GUIDE TO ZK ROLLUPS

This article provides an in-depth guide to understanding ZK proofs and ZK rollups. It covers the fundamentals of ZK proofs, practical examples, and the intricacies of how ZK rollups operate. It also explores how these solutions interact with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The guide is part of a series aimed at shedding light on the complex world of zero-knowledge cryptography in blockchain technology.

COIN BULL CASE

This thread makes a bull case for Coinbase. It argues that Coinbase is well-positioned to capture a substantial increase in volume due to its retail-friendly platform, high beta exposure to the crypto market, expansion into international markets, steady progress towards profitability, and assortment of offerings. However, the potential regulatory environment in the US and outstanding cases the company faces remain a concern.

CHAINLIGHT SAVED ZKSYNC ERA FROM $1.9B EXPLOIT

Blockchain security auditor ChainLight discovered a vulnerability in the zkSync Era protocol that could have led to a potential $1.9 billion loss. The flaw was located in the zk-circuits, which verify the integrity of transactions. Exploitation would have allowed an attacker to mimic legal transactions. Although exploiting the flaw would be very challenging due to the high security level required, the Matter Labs team responded, swiftly fixing the issue, and ChainLight was rewarded with 50,000 USDC for finding the bug.

A GUIDE TO THIS CYCLE

This post lays out some helpful tips to keep in mind during this cycle, especially during the bull market. It suggests buying support during dips and pullbacks, warns against excessive leverage, and urges traders to constantly scan for opportunities. It predicts new waves of liquidity from Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs coming online, Solana’s potential during this cycle, and the impact of potential DOJ regulations.

THIS MONTH’S STATE OF CRYPTO INDEX FROM A16Z

a16z’s monthly update to its State of Crypto Index includes improved measures for mobile wallet users, now sourced from SensorTower, and developer library downloads, now featuring viem.

SEC ASKS COURT FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT AGAINST DO KWON, TERRAFORM

The SEC is seeking summary judgment against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs, alleging the sale of securities and fraudulent conduct without needing a full trial.

US SUPREME COURT AGREES TO TAKE UP COINBASE CASE INVOLVING ARBITRATION JURISDICTION

The US Supreme Court will hear a Coinbase case to determine if a Dogecoin sweepstakes dispute is subject to arbitration or California court jurisdiction.

ARTA TECHFIN DEVELOPING REGULATED, INTEROPERABLE FUND TOKENS ON MAJOR CHAINS

Arta TechFin is developing regulated, interoperable fund tokens with Chainlink’s services, offering fiat-based investment returns. It is also seeking regulatory approval for the product.

DESIGN THINKING PIONEER IDEO LAYS OFF 25% EMPLOYEES

IDEO’s CEO Derek Robson announced a global meeting in October. The company is set to lay off around 125 employees by the end of the year, amounting to about 25% of its global workforce. This is the company's second round of layoffs for 2023, with a total reduction of 32% in headcount for the year. In addition to the layoffs, IDEO is closing its offices in Munich and Tokyo and downsizing in several U.S. locations, London, and Shanghai.

GOOGLE PASSWORD MANAGER COULD SOON PICK UP A NEW DESIGN

Google Password Manager for Android is set to receive a visual overhaul, aligning with Material Design 3 guidelines. The update will split core features into three tabs and replace the '+' symbol with an 'Add password' button in the Search bar. Google continues to improve its Password Manager to compete with top password managers, offering features like biometric authentication and cross-platform sync.

NASA LAUNCHES NEW APP TO SEE THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

NASA has launched a new app for both iPhone and Android that makes it easier to spot the International Space Station (ISS) in the night sky. The app provides information about when and where to see the ISS, including its brightness, duration, altitude, and direction of travel. It also offers an augmented reality feature to locate the ISS in the sky and provides access to news and information about the ISS and space exploration.

AI FOR UX: GETTING STARTED

Designers can use AI to increase their productivity, improve the quality of their work, and enhance their skills. An essential element in getting full value from AI is to include a heavy dose of human judgment in the workflow. This is for three reasons: humans must select ideas suggested by AI, hallucinations can be convincing, and bias lurks in the training data. To get AI working, designers should provide ample context in their prompts, ask for multiple options, iterate on the output, and build a prompt library.

5 TIPS FOR GIVING FEEDBACK TO YOUR DESIGNER… THE CORRECT WAY

Feedback in the design profession is crucial but often challenging due to the reliance on remote communication methods like email and messaging platforms. Constructive criticism requires clear, objective language and thoughtful expression that cannot rely on tone or body language, making it essential to choose words carefully.

BUILDING INTERACTIVE UX MAPS

Interactions can be applied to high-fidelity UX maps to showcase user research and further engage with stakeholders. To make the UX maps easier to consume and more engaging, start with consolidating findings and data into a low-fidelity map. Then establish a visual design system, group key elements of your map by theme or type (e.g., videos, photos), create a structure using auto layout, add the content, prototype the desired interactions, test, and troubleshoot.

DESIGN SYSTEM CHECKLIST

With this open-source checklist, you can plan, build, and grow your design system.

AUTOMATE THE DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR DESIGN TOKENS

Specify works as a single source of truth for your design tokens and assets to facilitate brand consistency and collaboration across teams and products.

UICONS

A growing icon library with a range of unusual styles. The icons can be filtered by round, straight, angled, or fluid pixel family, as well as by weight and category.

IN SEARCH OF THE IDEAL PRIVACY ICON

Icons are capable of enhancing the content that surrounds them, but they have to be self-explanatory for that to happen. We have icons for things we like (a thumbs up), things we can share (a box topped with an up arrow), and even for protection against malicious online attacks (a shield), but what are the options we have for representing “privacy?” A padlock, a detective, a Zorro mask, or a shield?

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF VISIONARY DESIGNERS

Among designers, a silent wave of standardization has been slowly but steadily engulfing the essence of our creativity, leading to what has been poignantly termed "The era of The Vanishing Designer." This phenomenon encapsulates the systemic shift towards a rigid, data-driven approach, overshadowing the whimsical charm of individual creativity that once was the hallmark of the design ethos.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? DIGITAL DESIGN NOW HAS ITS OWN HISTORY

Art and design historian Stephen J. Eskilson is releasing Digital Design: A History, the first book to examine how computer-aided design has impacted culture and society. Eskilson takes a broad view of digital practice and outcomes, looking at games, UX/UI, digital typography, prototyping, and more.

HOW GRAPHIC DESIGNERS ARE CREATING THEIR OWN AI TOOLS

Despite AI's ability to produce technically competent designs and aesthetically pleasing images, it remains based on some median output dictated by whichever visual data it's been trained on. For creativity to indeed exist, it requires a greater degree of human involvement, intent, and authorship on the creator's part. Six designers explain how they built their own AI toolkits, their approach to using tech, and how they keep humanity in their work.

BREAKING DOWN A DESIGN

Follow these patterns to make breaking down a design to get it ready for development easier: be clear on the outcome and opportunity, do it at the right moment, be clear on the end-to-end journey, work at the right fidelity, accept the chunks of work, don’t get disheartened when the design is being chopped to pieces, identify releases with outcomes, design for interim releases, and be prepared to move on even if the project is 80% complete.

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OPENAI IS A LOT MORE VULNERABLE THAN YOU THINK

On the heels of OpenAI releasing functionality that decimated half of the GPT-wrapper companies, here is a contrarian view of the blind spots and weaknesses of OpenAI as this market continues to evolve.

SAAS UNICORNS EXPANDING THEIR TAM THROUGH ACQUISITIONS

Larger SaaS companies like HubSpot and Clari are making acquisitions to diversify their offerings during a period of low capital funding, increasing user expectations, and growing resentment for running operations on dozens of point solutions.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN UPTURN

We’re almost 2 years into this “recession”, and at some point, we’re going to turn a corner. All of that belt-tightening and pain is going to switch and entrepreneurs need to be ready to make the switch to growth again. This is a great read on how to hopefully read the tea leaves and ride the next wave.

WHAT US-BASED SAAS COMPANIES NEED TO KNOW BEFORE EXPANDING INTO EUROPE?

Here are 5 great things to think about before you start to look at Europe as a new revenue destination. Staying close to your customers and speaking their language (literally) help.

UNWINDING B2B SAAS GROWTH IN THE CURRENT MARKET

As interest rates rise and funding dries, boards and leadership everywhere are expecting their GTM teams to operate more efficiently. This article unpacks what this actually involves, from bringing your data and sales teams closer together to refining your ICP and target audience.